The local government of Quezon City has started identifying existing buildings to be used as quarantine facilities to address the need for isolation units amid the rising number of patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Local government infrastructures, public school buildings, and dormitories are being considered, evaluated, and retrofitted into quarantine facilities to help prevent community transmission and decongest hospital facilities.
"Since asymptomatic or those with mild symptoms do not need extensive medical care, they can be admitted in these facilities until their full recovery,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement Friday.
Belmonte said medical workers such as nurses and doctors will also be assigned to closely monitor admitted patients.
Currently, various local government departments are evaluating possible isolation sites to meet the target 1,000 new beds. Other buildings will also be used as quarters for health workers.
Among the buildings being considered is the Quezon City University, which was initially used as a community-quarantine facility during the first wave of COVID-19 in the city last year.
In partnership with the Philippine Red Cross, Philippine Medical Association, and the Department of Public Works and Highways, the local government will also transform the Kamia Residence Hall of the UP Diliman Campus to a 282-bed facility to cater to COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.
Other buildings being identified in the initial list of facilities are Building D of the San Francisco High School in Bago Bantay, Barangay Sto. Cristo, and Ateneo’s Junior High School complex.
“We are grateful for the proactive participation of private organizations like Ateneo in our COVID-19 response. Through their facility, we will be able to accommodate more patients of COVID-19,” Belmonte said.